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COLLEEN
RAE...
THIS IS YOUR LIFE!
Many of you have seen her name
in print, but far fewer can put a face to
the name. She's Colleen Rae, our one and only dedicated
correspondent for the Local Observer. Colleen's the person who seeks
out and writes stories about the people, places and events in the
greater Fennville area.
She's a wife,
mother, dancer, artist, musician, caregiver and author. Colleen is indeed a lady of great
diversity.
Born in Grand Rapids
Michigan, she lived there till she was ten years old. Her mother remarried to an army colonel and Colleen
then traveled the world as an
"army brat." As such, she's lived in or visited Germany,
Spain, Istanbul, Nepal, Afghanistan, India and Turkey. "Visiting so
many places has left me open to many different ideas" she says.
"Whatever I see or experience I don't immediately judge and don't
jump to any conclusions."
That diversity in
her background has helped her greatly in her current profession as a
writer. "That's what writers do best." she says. "In
one way or another, their
writings bring to life the
experiences they've had."
She submitted her
first novel to 102 publishers over the course of a year and received
102 rejections. Since then she's had her manuscript professionally
edited and she feels it may now be ready to be submitted for
publication once again.
But being published
isn't the only reward Colleen seeks in her writing. She writes for
relaxation much as some people practice meditation. "I love to write. Some
people meditate but I write. As I write I go into a place where I'm not
aware of time."
| "Classical
ballet requires tremendous discipline and time
commitment. At 16 I discovered boys and suddenly had
less time left for dancing." |
Colleen started in dance
class at age 7. She studied ballet, tap, modern dance, then classic
ballet. As a
teenager she danced with the Chicago Ballet Guild.. "Classical ballet
requires tremendous discipline and time commitment. At 16 I discovered
boys and suddenly had less time left for dancing." In that
respect she's like many of us -- the point at which we first
discover the opposite sex marks a big turning point in our lives --
for better or for worse. J
She never completely gave up dancing
though. Up until her first child was born, in her 20's, she
continued with a modern dance group. She also learned to play the
guitar and performed with a Folk Singing Group.
By the time she reached her 30's
Colleen took up Belly Dancing. This was the summer of '67 -- the summer of love.
"Belly dancing was the hot commodity back then.
Everyone was taking Belly Dancing classes." As a dance lover,
she too began taking lessons. After a year of lessons and
one-time gigs, an
opportunity presented itself to audition for a paying job in a Greek restaurant. To
her delight, she landed the job and for the first time was able to parlay her love of
dancing into a source of income. |
Colleen with her husband Larry. Larry (Cummins) is
currently a member of the City Council.
As a belly dancer, Colleen used the
stage name "Kalifa." I asked Kalifa for a little background on
just what belly dancing is all about.
Kalifa says,
"The beginning of belly dancing has been controversial down
through the centuries. Some say it began in the nomadic tribes
of the Middle-East and northern Africa, centuries ago, and the
undulations of the stomach were done by the tribal women in
sympathy for a woman in childbirth to help along the process.
Others say that the hip shimmies and torso movements started in
the folk dances done around the campfires of the Bedouin tribes,
where both men and women danced. Eventually it was taken into
the clubs in the cities, where, in the Middle East, at first,
only men could perform the dance, as women were not allowed to
dance in the clubs. Much later, around the 1990's, women began
to perform the dance in public. It was brought to the World's
Fair in New York City around the turn of the century by Little
Egypt. She started a dance movement that didn't stop. In the
1970's, belly dancing had a resurgence, especially on the west
coast of the United States. It has been a viable and artistic
form of dance ever since."
Colleen found
another calling within herself through an experience any mother
would rank among the most tragic. She nursed her only son over a
period of years through an illness that eventually took his
life. Colleen came away from this experience realizing she had a
calling as a caregiver. She became a professional caregiver for
the elderly and life threatened and has continued this
profession for the past ten years, most recently on a part-time
basis.
Colleen moved to Fennville from San
Francisco a little more than two years ago. Her only daughter lives
in a nearby community and convinced her mom to move to
Fennville. She met Larry Cummins shortly after moving here and they
became man and wife about a year later. Larry was a former resident
of Lansing.
Colleen and her husband Larry are
actively involved in our community. Both are on the 2007 Goose
Festival Committee. In addition, Larry serves on the City Planning
Commission and is currently running for an open position on the City
Council. It was a great day for Fennville when Colleen came to town
and brought Larry along with her. |
